BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bnjrob]

We have never made sausage with chicken. Has anyone had any that was any good? If so, could they point me to a recipe? It is something that I would like to try. Another thing I would like to try is canning poultry meat.

We still pluck and will pluck the birds. I do not want to lose the skin. I have removed only the breast and thighs on some young cockerels, but I would rather get it all. We feed some to the cats and dogs. That is what I do with the old males. I am not eating them. I have too many young birds to eat. The dogs enjoy them though.

ETA: The waste feathers, feet, bones etc. is good for burying where the future fruit tree will be etc. It gives them a great start. All of my trees that I have planted have been planted over such holes.

I haven't canned any of our homegrown chicken but I plan to. I canned some store bought thighs as a trial - they turned out great for making fast meals. I used the raw pack method and got 4 thighs into a quart jar, which is about a pound of meat. Love the idea of not needing electricity to store the meat, and being able to open the jar up and have the meat already cooked is so nice when you're in a hurry.

I want to purchase raw goats milk, but I cannot get it. Some will sell it to people for pets etc., but I have not wanted to lie about it's use.

That sucks. Texas will allow raw milk sales only directly from the farm, so the farms set up stores on their property. But the permit process is crazy and they require that you submit all your blueprints and plans for the milking parlor to be approved BEFORE you begin to build, and then once you build it, you resubmit everything to get the permits to sell. This year they have submitted a bill to allow raw milk sales at farmer's markets and directly to the customer's home, but there is always a lot of opposition to it every time it comes up.

 

[gjensen]

I haven't canned any of our homegrown chicken but I plan to. I canned some store bought thighs as a trial - they turned out great for making fast meals. I used the raw pack method and got 4 thighs into a quart jar, which is about a pound of meat. Love the idea of not needing electricity to store the meat, and being able to open the jar up and have the meat already cooked is so nice when you're in a hurry.


That sucks. Texas will allow raw milk sales only directly from the farm, so the farms set up stores on their property. But the permit process is crazy and they require that you submit all your blueprints and plans for the milking parlor to be approved BEFORE you begin to build, and then once you build it, you resubmit everything to get the permits to sell. This year they have submitted a bill to allow raw milk sales at farmer's markets and directly to the customer's home, but there is always a lot of opposition to it every time it comes up.

I do not know what the laws are here. I speak as if I know, but thinking about it, I do not know. I do know that I would like to have a regular supply of fresh raw milk. I even thought about getting a couple goats, but I do not think that I am up for the commitment now.

I think we will have to try canning poultry meat. I like the idea of not needing the electricity to store the meat to. My first concern would be safety. I guess that I could be the guinea pig, LOL. Seriously though, I have seen Bee mention it a few times. I think we could make good use of this method.

 

[dfr1973]

I have canned chicken, both stock and now meat. I like it - leaves more room in the freezer and no worries about power outages from storms, and whatnot. Hubby likes how tender the meat comes out, especially on these ornrey cockerels. I just follow the directions in my pressure canner manual. Check all the seals the next day, in case any chicken fat gets up around the rim. I had two out of ten the last time not seal.

I sent a pint of stock and carcass meat up to hubby's grandma the other week, and she called me last week to thank me for it. Not only does she think we raise the tastiest chicken, but she was able to stretch that pint into four evenings' worth of meals by adding rice and vegetables to it for soup.

One of the big things to remember with pressure canning is to let it come down to room temperature on its own. When I first got the canner, I got impatient and blew out a quart jar of ground beef ... quite the mess inside.

 

[southernmomma]

Quote:
I have noticed that store purchased meat feels different too. A bit soft and slick with a waxy kind of feel. Yuck.

@gjensen , You shouldn't concern yourself about lying about the use of a raw milk purchase. The folks you buy it from are most likely lying about it being only for pets, at least in my experience. Consider the greatest lie of all~ that it's unsafe for human consumption.

M

 

[n3kms]

In Tennessee it's illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption. It is not illegal to drink raw milk. So, they sell it as pet milk and you can use it for whatever you want with the realization that there are no government imposed safety measures placed on its production. We drink it and make kefir with it and we do give the dogs and sometimes the chickens kefir. The chickens sometimes get whey from making yogurt too. The people who sell it for 6-9 dollars a gallon don't really think you feed it to your pets.

 

[RedRidge]

On the excess cockerel issue, I now have caponizing tools and my next step is to gain proficiency with them.  I'll still need space and feed for them, but successfully caponized eliminates the fighting issue.  Just a really old-fashioned solution to an even older situation.

That may be more trouble than what it's worth. Are you sure you'll have fighting issues?
When we raise cockerels for meat they all get raised in the same group. I had a group of more than 100 last year. They were hatched in Jan and Feb, separated by sex in May and all cockerels combined (even those who had not previously been together). The trick is to raise them away from all the girls. I had more than 100 cockerels together until we got around to butchering in Oct and had zero fighting. Just keep them where they can't see the girls and you should have no posturing issues.

 

[RedRidge]

 
That's great to have things in place to use so much of everything.  We're not using everything yet, but we're headed that direction.  The idea of using chicken feet and other offal is just not doing it for me yet.  I did actually read about skinning chicken feet the other day.  Baby steps, LOL.  I make a ton of broth and seasoned stock here with bones and skin.  My pressure canner pretty much lives on the stove.

I anticipate only being able to raise animals for our own use unless we start keeping birds on a much larger scale that could pay for itself.  Even selling live animals for food, legally, can get so nitpicky here.  Big-ag interests always come first when it comes to regulations, and then the various medical and hospital associations also lobby against allowing small producers to be able to sell anything.  They tell everyone that people will be dying left and right from e coli and salmonella if things are made easy for small producers to sell things. 

 I want to purchase raw goats milk, but I cannot get it. Some will sell it to people for pets etc., but I have not wanted to lie about it's use.

Do they allow herd shares in your state? I milk sheep and we sell herd shares... easy way of don't it if allowed in your state. Btw, once you try sheep's milk you'll never drink goats milk again. ;-)

 

[BayBay Peepers]

In Wisconsin you have to purchase at least part of the animal to legally have the raw milk.

 

[dfr1973]

That may be more trouble than what it's worth. Are you sure you'll have fighting issues?
When we raise cockerels for meat they all get raised in the same group. I had a group of more than 100 last year. They were hatched in Jan and Feb, separated by sex in May and all cockerels combined (even those who had not previously been together). The trick is to raise them away from all the girls. I had more than 100 cockerels together until we got around to butchering in Oct and had zero fighting. Just keep them where they can't see the girls and you should have no posturing issues.

I don't yet have the room to keep the cockerels where they cannot see the pullets or hens. I would need to clear out the back acre and half (out of 2.55 acres total), then get another electric netting perimeter. I am learning to caponize anyway - neither hubby nor I have had capon since childhood.

 

[gjensen]

Do they allow herd shares in your state? I milk sheep and we sell herd shares... easy way of don't it if allowed in your state. Btw, once you try sheep's milk you'll never drink goats milk again. ;-)

I do not know if they do or not. This discussion has motivated me to look into this so I do know. I suspect that it is as I think it is.

I would love to try sheep's milk. I have never had it. I have never heard of it being available anywhere near me.

I had plans to try sheep. I have a fascination with the breeds, history, and different species. It is not in my cards now though.

I still consider a couple of Nigerians, but I doubt it would happen.